A man was so obsessed with joining the Army he went to a barracks nearly 500 times in the space of 10 weeks to offer to sign up.
John Petersen made 498 approaches to Kinloss Barracks on 65 separate occasions between April 8 and June 26.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard that his “strange” behaviour and fanatical requests caused Military Provost Guard Service staff “alarm” and “concern for their safety and safety of the military establishment”.
On July 29, the 49-year-old violated a special condition not to enter or approach any military area in Moray or the Highlands by returning to Kinloss Barracks and trying to enter the guard room.
Fiscal Alison Wylie told the court: “On some occasions, he had literally been sent away and returned within minutes.
“His behaviour over the 10-week period was completely bizarre.”
Petersen was arrested on a warrant on September 21, but was released on bail with sentence deferred until yesterday for the preparation of a background report.
Sheriff David Hall asked if he had ever been involved previously with any military services.
Petersen’s agent, solicitor Robert Cruickshank, said his client was “certainly far too old for the regular force”.
He added: “For completeness, it is my understanding there is still some desire to have an involvement with the reserve force, not the armed force.
Sheriff Hall told Petersen: “This was a bizarre offence over 10 weeks, which no doubt caused a lot of inconvenience to those working in the establishment, who certainly had better things to do with their time than take on you.
“I’m glad to hear you have stuck with your bail condition not to approach any Ministry of Defence (MoD) property since being released on September 21, and I’m minded to test your trust for a longer period of time.
“It is in your interest you ensure you stay out of trouble, but if you decide in the next year you want to do something with the forces, you can contact Mr Cruickshank about having that bail condition removed, but for now you have to prove you can stay away.”
Petersen, of 12 Seaview Caravan Park, Kinloss, now has a year to prove he can behave and will return to court on October 20 next year.
An MoD spokeswoman declined to comment on his antics last night.
